Unit 2: Organising information

Let’s look at workflows – a vital part of staying organised.

A workflow is simply a series of steps that you follow consistently to manage your work and all the information flooding in every day. For example, you might have one place where you store resources, another spot to keep your documents, and a way to share with students or colleagues. For many of us, this can be a bit of a mess, but in this unit we’re going to help you streamline the process. Being conscious of your workflow will make you more organised and efficient.

Complicating the picture even more is the number of different devices people use to access the internet. These days people may have some or all of the following:

This means that we’re not only able to access a constant stream of information on many different devices, but also that we need to find ways to organise this information, save it for later and make sure that it is available on any device we use.

In this unit we will explore the best ways to organise and save resources, keep track of our notes and make sure that you can access your work wherever you are.

In this unit you will explore:

the crucial role your web browser plays in keeping you organised

methods of storing notes, resources and documents online

techniques for keeping track of your bookmarks and sharing resources with others

As you explore the tasks for this unit, we’d like you to consider the following questions (use these as a starting point for your reflective blog post about this unit):

What are your current techniques for keeping your work organised, keeping track of resources and sharing these resources with others? How do you imagine the tools covered in this unit will change your workflow?

Is teaching workflow and organisation techniques to students an important task? What have you noticed about the workflow and organisational strategies of students?

How have digital technologies and internet access changed the way we organise ourselves?